Project management trends 2020 are more upbeat with a need to incorporate unconventional thinking due to the challenges of the modern world.

Project management has seen a substantial change in the last decade from the evolution of tools and techniques to the latest methodologies and frameworks displaying an emergent trend. Project managers are expediting their teams to come up with innovative and new ideas to gain an advantage in the market.

LATEST PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRENDS

With the soaring project management importance, all organizations irrespective of the industry are implementing project management methodologies to boost the efficiency of their business. Let us look at some of the latest and cutting-edge project management trends 2020:

1.     ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

It is not the intelligence of the human as the name suggests, but machine learning with automated systems. It is mainly employed to deal with analyzing the risk factors, managing cost, budget, time, and human resources. Many organizations use artificial intelligence in project management to automate and perform tasks with precision based on depicted insights to complete the projects.

 

2.     HYBRID PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH:

Mixing two project management methodologies like the traditional one with the agile framework gives rise to a hybrid project management approach. This helps team members with a different point of view to work together which results in better decision-making, value-added efficiency, increased stability, and improved engagement to deliver superior results.

 

3.     EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:

One of the most common challenges that project managers fail to understand is the impact of emotional intelligence. An efficient project manager requires interpersonal skills to gain the confidence and trust of the team members. Failing to understand the emotions of the team can lead to miscommunication, conflicts which can be a major setback to any project.

 

4.     DATA ANALYSIS:

Project management involves handling big data accurately and securely. Big data analysis has already started shaping and transforming the world of project management. Analysing the data in the right and effective way can add a lot of value to the organization by a higher quality of business productions.

 

5.     REMOTE / VIRTUAL WOKING:

The year 2020 brought its challenges. With the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic, almost every organization opted for remote/virtual working. It has its advantages; from flexibility in the schedule, working in a globally dispersed talent pool to not having to commute to the office every day leading to a reduction in the cost of the project.

EMERGING PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRENDS

The impact that the project management trends have on the teams, stakeholders, and the methodology used, tell a lot more about the organizations' culture. There is always a cut-throat competition between the organizations to satisfy the customer and deliver enhanced results with a reduction in "time to market". With changing market dynamics, organizational behaviour has also seen a drastic change.

The best way that any organization can keep up with the evolving world is to keep evolving itself by identifying the trends that are emerging and act promptly. Some of the emerging project management trends are as follows:

  •  Globalization of the projects
  •  The increasing popularity of the Agile Methodology
  •  Using efficient PMO (Project Management Office) to meet the project goals
  • Digital transformation being adapted
  • More focus on Risk Management
  • Change Management gaining importance
  • Collaborations between the organizations

GLOBAL TRENDS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Globally several initiatives have been taken to achieve specific goals that depend on efficient, productive, and smart project management methods. To name a few global trends in project management are:

·       Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Cybersecurity: This will help in better risk management as AI can simulate all the possibilities without human error.

·       Increased demand for project managers: Skilled project managers are needed now more than ever as the organizations are striving hard to help drive change, innovate, and implement calculated initiatives for planned growth.

·       The emergence of Green Project Management: It is including sustainable methods to project management processes by which projects are defined, planned, monitored, and controlled alongside delivering satisfying results to the stakeholders.

·       Gaining recognition of Scrum framework: Across the world, the scrum framework is a part of agile methodology that many organizations are using for both IT and Non-IT sector due to is the ease of adaption.

BEST PRACTICES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Everyone strives to achieve perfect project goals or be a perfect project manager or a perfect team, but it is impossible to achieve perfection, but we can always make ourselves better by opting for project management best practices. A few of the best project management practices that can be incorporated in any industry or organization which will go a long way are:

  • Starting the project with detailed and well-defined documentation of the work
  •  Understanding the work plan of previous or similar projects
  •  Communication between the stakeholders and team members
  • Including every team member in all project meetings
  • Creating a risk response to every problem
  • Explaining to the stakeholders how a new request will affect the time and budget
  • Taking frequent feedback from the team members and stakeholders

FUTURE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

It would be an injustice to talk about all the latest, emerging, and global trends and not to throw some light on what future of project management looks like. The demand for a skilled project manager is always increasing due to the outburst of globalization and digitalization and it has become the need of the hour for every organization in every industry to stay afloat.

It is believed that professionals with PMP certification deliver high performing and better results. All the hiring professionals and decision-makers look for people who know what they are doing and not only manage the team. They also focus on governance of the projects with greater grace keeping in mind the standards and regulations. A trained and skilled project manager with experience can play an integral part in leading the organization towards success.